Peterson has close call with glass in food

Tim Yotter

11/17/2011

Adrian Peterson cut his finger on a piece of glass in his food while eating at a Green Bay-area steakhouse, but he was thankful he didn't swallow it and cut his throat. Plus, injury updates, special teams players to watch and more.

A pre-dinner prayer and a forceful pinch may have saved Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson from cutting up his mouth or throat before the Vikings' loss in Green Bay Monday night.

Peterson was eating with teammates at a steakhouse in Appleton, Wis. He started eating when he realized he forgot to pray. After the prayer, he began pulling the skin off his roasted chicken when he felt something cut one of his fingers.

"I looked and you see that right there (showing a mark on his finger three days later)," Peterson said. "It was probably about that big (signaling about a quarter inch) and I was just like, ‘Wow!' It was on top of the skin, but it was laying flat. I picked it up and I pinched. It just jammed in my finger. I looked at it and I was like, ‘Wow!'"

"It was good because I actually started eating and then prayed on my food. So I started eating and then I normally pray, but I stopped and prayed," Peterson said.

Now he is saying a different prayer.

"I thank God that it jammed in my finger and didn't jam in my throat," he said.

Peterson said he talked to restaurant employees about the incident.

"Of course, they were so apologetic: We'll try to search and see how did it happen. I just couldn't even understand how glass would get near roasted chicken," Peterson said.

Neither could tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who posted on his Facebook page, "Ironically out of all people, Adrian has a huge piece of glass in his meal."

With the intense rivalry between the Vikings and Packers, especially between their fans, Peterson was asked if he's convinced it was an accident. "I don't … whatever. I didn't swallow it, so that's a blessing."

Preifer saw first-hand the leg strength of Janikowski 10 times during that five-year period.

"He just never ceases to amaze me with his power and what he can generate in a small amount of area," Priefer said. "In kickoffs, he doesn't have a long approach even when he's healthy. On his field goals, he's got a quick two-step approach. He's very difficult to block, but he gets the ball up in the air so quickly it sounds like an explosion off his foot."

The Vikings might be the beneficiary of a hamstring injury that kept Janikowski from practicing on Wednesday, but there is little doubt he has one of the most powerful legs in the NFL.

In his first two games of the season, all 11 of Janikowski's kickoffs went for touchbacks. Over the next four games, 8 of 14 were touchbacks, but since suffering the hamstring injury, including sitting out one game, 12 of his last 15 kickoffs have been returned.

"We have to have two game plans. We've got to have one to get ready for his bloop kicks, I call them, or his liner kicks, and then we have to have one for his deep kicks," Priefer said. "Going into this game we have to have two different game plans for how healthy he is."

Priefer said he will watch Janikowski during warmups to get a gauge of how much power he has as his hamstring improves.

"He might try to disguise it. I would if I were him," Priefer said.

PUNT RETURN OPPORTUNITY?

The Vikings gave up their first punt return for a touchdown Monday night in Green Bay, but they might have their best opportunity of the season to return the favor to an opponent.

Oakland has given up two punt returns for touchdowns this year – a 90-yarder and an 85-yarder. That accounts for two of the seven punt returns for touchdowns of 80 or more yards in the NFL this year.

Through the first 10 weeks of the NFL season, there have been 13 punt-return touchdowns. The seven that have gone 80 or more yards are the most through the first 10 weeks of a season since at least the 1970 merger.

The Vikings helped push that number to seven last week by allowing Randall Cobb's 80-yard return in Green Bay.

"I think we have to do a better job keeping our feet. I think we have to do a better job squeezing the ball." Priefer said.

INJURY UPDATE

TE Visanthe Shiancoe was added to the injury report on Thursday after tweaking his hamstring in practice.

"You'd like to have certain guys out there, but overall I think we're in a good shape," Frazier said of the overall health of the team.

The Raiders' injury report remained largely the same as it was on Wednesday, with the exception of listing TE Kevin Boss (a full participant) with a knee injury and placing Chimdi Chekwa on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

The Vikings and UnitedHealthCare are teaming up to host a "Food & Fund Drive" before Sunday's game at Mall of America Field, collecting non-perishable food items for hungry Minnesotans. The collection will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the gates of the stadium. Visits to Second Harvest Heartland's member agencies increased 82 percent in the last three years, from 943,000 visits in the first eight months of 2008 to 1.7 million visits in the first eight months of 2011.

Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac and Frazier both said CB Benny Sapp, who was signed on Wednesday, could play in the Vikings' nickel defense against the Oakland Raiders. Sapp played with the Vikings in 2008 and 2009 but was traded to Miami before the start of the 2010 season. The Vikings placed CB Antoine Winfield on injured reserve Wednesday after he fractured his clavicle Monday night.

Winfield had successful surgery on his fractured clavicle and is expecting about a three-month recovery period, and Frazier said "he should be able to continue on with his career from there."

\r\n\r\n","mobileBody":"A pre-dinner prayer and a forceful pinch may have saved Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson from cutting up his mouth or throat before the Vikings' loss in Green Bay Monday night. Peterson was eating with teammates at a steakhouse in Appleton, Wis. He started eating when he realized he forgot to pray. After the prayer, he began pulling the skin off his roasted chicken when he felt something cut one of his fingers. \"I looked and you see that right there (showing a mark on his finger three days later),\" Peterson said. \"It was probably about that big (signaling about a quarter inch) and I was just like, ‘Wow!' It was on top of the skin, but it was laying flat. I picked it up and I pinched. It just jammed in my finger. I looked at it and I was like, ‘Wow!'\" \"It was good because I actually started eating and then prayed on my food. So I started eating and then I normally pray, but I stopped and prayed,\" Peterson said. Now he is saying a different prayer. \"I thank God that it jammed in my finger and didn't jam in my throat,\" he said. Peterson said he talked to restaurant employees about the incident. \"Of course, they were so apologetic: I just couldn't even understand how glass would get near roasted chicken,\" Peterson said. Neither could tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who posted on his Facebook page, \"Ironically out of all people, Adrian has a huge piece of glass in his meal.\" With the intense rivalry between the Vikings and Packers, especially between their fans, Peterson was asked if he's convinced it was an accident. \"I don't … whatever. I didn't swallow it, so that's a blessing.\" Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer probably has more experience with Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski than he would like. Priefer coached in the AFC West for five seasons, three with the Kansas City Chiefs (2006-08) and two with the Denver Broncos (2009-10). Preifer saw first-hand the leg strength of Janikowski 10 times during that five-year period. \"He just never ceases to amaze me with his power and what he can generate in a small amount of area,\" Priefer said. \"In kickoffs, he doesn't have a long approach even when he's healthy. On his field goals, he's got a quick two-step approach. He's very difficult to block, but he gets the ball up in the air so quickly it sounds like an explosion off his foot.\" The Vikings might be the beneficiary of a hamstring injury that kept Janikowski from practicing on Wednesday, but there is little doubt he has one of the most powerful legs in the NFL. In his first two games of the season, all 11 of Janikowski's kickoffs went for touchbacks. Over the next four games, 8 of 14 were touchbacks, but since suffering the hamstring injury, including sitting out one game, 12 of his last 15 kickoffs have been returned. \"We have to have two game plans. We've got to have one to get ready for his bloop kicks, I call them, or his liner kicks, and then we have to have one for his deep kicks,\" Priefer said. \"Going into this game we have to have two different game plans for how healthy he is.\" Priefer said he will watch Janikowski during warmups to get a gauge of how much power he has as his hamstring improves. \"He might try to disguise it. I would if I were him,\" Priefer said. The Vikings gave up their first punt return for a touchdown Monday night in Green Bay, but they might have their best opportunity of the season to return the favor to an opponent. Oakland has given up two punt returns for touchdowns this year – a 90-yarder and an 85-yarder. That accounts for two of the seven punt returns for touchdowns of 80 or more yards in the NFL this year. Through the first 10 weeks of the NFL season, there have been 13 punt-return touchdowns. The seven that have gone 80 or more yards are the most through the first 10 weeks of a season since at least the 1970 merger. The Vikings helped push that number to seven last week by allowing Randall Cobb's 80-yard return in Green Bay. \"I think we have to do a better job keeping our feet. I think we have to do a better job squeezing the ball.\" Priefer said. TE Visanthe Shiancoe was added to the injury report on Thursday after tweaking his hamstring in practice. G Anthony Herrera (knee), S Husain Abdullah (concussion), CB Marcus Sherels (death in family) and long snapper Cullen Loeffler (shoulder) didn't practice. Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said Abdullah passed the first part of his league-mandated concussion tests, but still has more progress to make if he is going to play Sunday. \"If we can't get him out here tomorrow, then in all likelihood we probably won't have him for Sunday. He's moving in the right direction,\" Frazier said. LB Erin Henderson (hamstring) and WR Michael Jenkins (knee) joined Shiancoe as limited Thursday. \"You'd like to have certain guys out there, but overall I think we're in a good shape,\" Frazier said of the overall health of the team. The Raiders' injury report remained largely the same as it was on Wednesday, with the exception of listing TE Kevin Boss (a full participant) with a knee injury and placing Chimdi Chekwa on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. WR Jacoby Ford (foot), K Sebastian Jankowski (hamstring), RB Darren McFadden (foot), DT Richard Seymour (knee), QB Jason Campbell (collarbone) , RB Manase Tonga (knee) and CB Chris Johnson (groin/hamstring) didn't practice again Thursday. S Matt Giordano (quadriceps), S Michael Huff (ankle), S Michael Mitchell (ankle), C Samson Satele (knee) and CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (hamstring) were all limited.

The Vikings and UnitedHealthCare are teaming up to host a \"Food & Fund Drive\" before Sunday's game at Mall of America Field, collecting non-perishable food items for hungry Minnesotans. The collection will take place from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the gates of the stadium. Visits to Second Harvest Heartland's member agencies increased 82 percent in the last three years, from 943,000 visits in the first eight months of 2008 to 1.7 million visits in the first eight months of 2011.

Defensive coordinator Fred Pagac and Frazier both said CB Benny Sapp, who was signed on Wednesday, could play in the Vikings' nickel defense against the Oakland Raiders. Sapp played with the Vikings in 2008 and 2009 but was traded to Miami before the start of the 2010 season. The Vikings placed CB Antoine Winfield on injured reserve Wednesday after he fractured his clavicle Monday night.

Winfield had successful surgery on his fractured clavicle and is expecting about a three-month recovery period, and Frazier said \"he should be able to continue on with his career from there.\"